CHRIS HUGHTON has revealed his faith in the current Newcastle United squad ahead of the biggest game of the season so far in the Coca-Cola Championship.

Hughton's side go into the battle with West Brom as clear leaders in the table and could edge nine points ahead of the Baggies with victory on Monday night.

And Hughton says that the transfer window this month would be an irrelevance if he could guarantee that his current roster could stay injury-free between now and the end of the season.

The Newcastle manager’s quest for new blood this month has so far proved fruit-less after Leeds United snubbed a bid for Jermaine Beckford and Matt Kilgallon opted to stay with Sheffield United, while Danny Simpson’s move from Manchester United now looks in trouble.

But Hughton’s praise is the ultimate compliment to a squad of players that were written off at the start of the season.

A combination of defiance and togetherness has put Newcastle in a superb position at the top of the Championship with dreams of an FA Cup run still intact.

With Toon stars like Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan, Fabricio Coloccini, Steve Harper, Shola Ameobi and Alan Smith excelling this season, a delighted Hughton told the Chronicle: “We’re still searching for the right players.

“There is nothing concrete at the moment and we are still working on the project we have in place – we’ll let the fans know the moment we get our men.

“There’s no panic either – I’m happy with the squad we’ve got here.

“But what I don’t want to happen is that if we do pick up injuries we find ourselves light in certain areas.

“There isn’t panic here, there is confidence.

“If I was guaranteed that this squad could all stay fit and every single player will remain fit until the end of the season I would be certainly more than happy.”

Hughton also believes that Peter Lovenkrands’ form has helped ease the pressure when it comes to finding a regular goalscorer.

He went on: “It gives us another option.

“What we have to think about is that we have a full season to complete.

“At the moment we are in a good position regarding injuries.

“We have to be mindful of that and we know that can change.

“Nothing has changed, there are still three areas that I want to bring somebody in.

“It’s a long hard season and we have to keep working hard on all fronts.”